Bristol International Jazz Blues Festival

This, the first Bristol international jazzfest, certainly lived up to its name with Colston Hall making room for gigs major and minor, plus the odd jam session - and international enough with the mighty Ginger Baker and Jazz Confusion, leaning heavily on the African roots of jazz.  And as James Brown alumnus Peewee Ellis, long settled in the West Country, took the stage, he got a special cheer for being himself and local too. He reappeared with one of the many bands gigging out front in the entrance hall, and headlined too, on Sunday.  Read the full review here:

John Schofield (here with his new Organic Trio) is a real all-rounder, easily moving from the kind of big-build-up and firey solo that a younger man would be proud of, to the prettiest of ballads with Tennessee Waltz. A real feast.

Arturo Sandoval

This was also a welcome opportunity to see Chris Barber, who was already a well-established Name when his end of the Trad spectrum was the breeding-ground for the Rolling Stones. When you consider what followed on from the Stones, you have to accept that some of Barber's musical DNA is swirling around in punk. His inbetween intros and band stories got extended into a virtual stand-up comedy routine. The weekend also gave welcome exposure to Clare Teal, local heroes Get The Blessing, serial collaborator Andy Sheppard  and 'New Orleans official musical ambassador' Lillian Boutté. 
The final big bang came from Cuban maestro Arturo Sandoval, whose sextet blew a swinging, roaring set, including his spot combining scat with beatbox and segueing into a vocal impersonation of all the instruments onstage. Generosity!